


Coffee and Cakes (and everything sweet)

by assvictoriam



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: (but that isnt really brought up for a while), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amanda's nice i guess, Connor Deserves Happiness, Connor and RK900 are adopted, Leo's trying, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Smut, Parent Hank Anderson, Protective Hank Anderson, Redemption for Leo, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Tags to be added, how to write summaries?, slow af updates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 02:35:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18437255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assvictoriam/pseuds/assvictoriam
Summary: In which Markus becomes Connor's boss.And falls in love.





	Coffee and Cakes (and everything sweet)

Markus’s Sundays often started like this…  
He leaves his apartment at seven. He catches the bus at seven-ten and unlocks the café door at seven-thirty. He turns on the coffee machine, places a bread order, and begins preparing for the day. He lets the chef in at seven-fifty, who begins preparing the kitchen. The store owner, Amanda, comes in at eight, and goes upstairs to begin admin work. The other workers trickle in at varying times; North comes in at nine-forty, bleary-eyed and hungover. Josh comes in at ten, surprisingly cheery for the early start. Simon comes in at ten-thirty, and Kara enters at ten-forty but begins at eleven. Markus stays behind the coffee machine, pumping order after order of bitter-smelling coffees. Smile at customers. Send workers on breaks. Tell Amanda when they run out of milk, or coffee beans, or hot chocolate mix.  
Markus goes on a break at ten-thirty. Another at two-thirty. He eats breakfast during his first break, and chugs a large cappuccino (add one pump of vanilla and two sugars,) during his second. North and Josh leave at two-forty, followed by Kara at three-thirty. Simon helps Markus close the shop- an activity that, regretfully, takes an hour- at a different time each week. Depending on when the café closes, Markus will go upstairs to Amanda. He gives her a rundown of the day, and a list of the best-selling food items. Then, he helps her come up with the following weeks’ ‘Specials Menu,’ before placing a meats order and then going home. He normally gets home at six-thirty. It’s a long day.  
Normally, it’s an eleven-hour workday. It’s _hell._ But that’s his job. _Jericho’s_! The café everyone meets at, because it serves good food, great coffee, and amazing service.

Markus is, technically, the store manager. Amanda had bought the café several years ago - _six, to be exact_ , - and Markus began working on day one. He was fifteen- Fresh-faced and cheerful, ready to take on the world! He never really “ _became”_ store manager, either. It kind of… happened. Sometime after he turned eighteen and left school. Now he’s twenty-one, living in an apartment with North.  
They go to the same college, but different degrees- North loves the idea of dance, while he _adores_ art. In short, Markus has a good schedule going on. He would know- He creates the workers’ schedules. So, you can imagine his surprise one Sunday in the middle of winter when someone walked into the store. The day went like this:

North came in at her normal time, followed by Josh. The morning rush was non-existent, Josh assuming that the cold was driving people away. There were a few customers milling about- A couple by the front-facing window, eating French toast. A student reading a book and sipping a coffee on an armchair by the fireplace, and a regular group of four, carb-loading after their morning run. Markus had already called Simon and Kara to tell them not to come in and had North washing dishes.  Josh was leaning against the counter, grinning at Markus as they scrolled through photos of Josh’s new cat. When they heard the door open, Josh waved without looking away. “Sit anywhere!” He called, his soothing voice quiet. When they heard footsteps, Josh shoved his phone into his pocket and looked up. Without looking at their new customer, Markus began filling up a frothing jug with milk.  
“Oh… I’m sorry. Um, I was told to ask for Markus?”  
That made Markus look up. Standing infront of the counter was a man. A very cute man. A very cute man with a round face and the nicest smile he’d ever seen. His tinted, bow-lips were pulled into an awkward, unsure smile, and his seemingly perfect, dark brown hair was slicked back with a few strands artfully framing his face. His pale face was splattered with freckles, a particularly large mole on the right side of his face, slightly higher than his eyebrow. He wore peculiar clothing- A pastel blue button-up shirt with vertical white stripes, with a dark blue jean-jacket with patches displaying different things sewn on. He wore tight jeans with a thick belt peeking through the half-tucked shirt.  Markus had to take a calming breath. And another. He looked weird. Hot. But weird. Like the clothes weren’t quite his, but still tailored just for him.  
“That’s me. How can I help you?” He smiled, almost dropping the frothing jug on the wooden counter. His heart felt like it would burst out of his chest.  
“My name is Connor. I’m supposed to be starting today?” His voice was soft. Monotone. Factual. He sounded like he made relaxation-podcasts for a living.  
“Great. I’ll take you out back and get you sorted. Come with me.” Stepping around Josh, he led Connor to the back of the store. The café was haphazard at best. It was divided into three major ‘sections’- The front area, where the customers ate. It was decorated with small tables, divided so each had enough privacy. There were also couches and armchairs, placed neatly around bookshelves, the fireplace, and open windows. Then there was the back area, where the kitchen, washup area, and bathrooms were. Unlike the front area, which was brightly lit and cosy, this part of the store was dark. Shadowy, a lack of windows and lack of warmth. (The kitchens were different. It was just this area.) Near the bathrooms was a staircase. At the top of the staircase was a door- They called it the gallows. Of course, it wasn’t as dramatic as its name suggested. It was just an upstairs room, brightly lit and minimally decorated, where Amanda sat, doing her work.  
Markus led Connor up the stairs.

 

“Ah, Markus. What do you need?” Amanda, like always, was sitting at her desk in the middle of the room. She was typing on a sleek, white laptop, glancing at a small black notebook on her right. On her left was a plain vase with five long, blood-red roses sticking out. He took a seat infront of her, Connor following silently.  
“I have Connor here. He said he’s starting today?” Amanda looked up from her laptop, brown eyes calculating. She didn’t speak for a long moment, gaze flitting between him and Connor.  
“Yes. It’s good to meet you, Connor. I’m Amanda Kamski. You have a very impressive resume.” In the corner of his eye, Markus saw Connor incline his head. “Markus will be mentoring you. You’ll be working from now until close. I’ll see you at the end of the day.” She turned to Markus, “Markus, please teach him to make coffees and the like. Show him around, all of that.”  
“Yes, Amanda.”  
"How many people are working today?” She smiled. Markus couldn’t tell if she was happy or not.  
Markus gave a soft smile in return, “The chef, Josh, and North. North is on washup, Josh’s waiting tables.”  
“Good. Dismissed.”

 

Markus finished the tour around the café quickly, wanting to get down to business. After returning to the counter, he directed Connor to the cash register. “So, Connor. We’ll put you through training, starting today. I’m sorry to say, though, that I don’t have your bank details. We need to pay you.” Markus smiled softly at Connor, who was standing ram-rod straight, eyes glued on Markus. His hands were inside his jacket, and Markus could see the fabric moving with his hands.  
“Oh. Of course. I’ll ask Hank to bring them in when he picks me up, if that’s alright.”  
“That’s fine, it’s no stress. Who’s Hank?”  
“Hank?” Connor seemed taken back- His eyes darkened, his hands pulled themselves from their pockets. “Hank’s my… Father. I live with him.”  
“Cool. Are you still in school?” Markus leaned backwards, his back hitting the corner of the counter. A sharp stab of pain blossomed in his hip, and he blanched. Feeling his face heat up, the tell-tale warmth of embarrassment digging a hole into his stomach, he shoved a hand onto the counter. To make it look like he’d meant to hit himself.  
Pointedly ignoring Markus’s failed attempt at being casual, Connor pulled a coin out of his pocket. “No, I’m studying at college. I just couldn’t live on campus,” he stated, shimmying the coin between each finger. Markus felt his eyes glued to the coin, watching as it rolled over each perfect knuckle. He stared as each finger tensed sporadically, guiding the penny to finger to finger. He felt his face flush again. Looked up to see dark brown irises trained on him.  
“That’s cool.” _That’s cool? What the fuck!_ “What’re you studying?”  
“The criminal justice system. I’m going to be in the police academy next year.” The right side of Connor’s perfectly pink lips twitched upwards, "you’re in college too, right?”  
“Yeah. Yeah, art major.” Markus glanced around the shop; it was empty, completely barren. A large plate sat on the table by the window, its porcelain glinting at him in the sun. Letting out a small sigh, Markus forced himself to look back at Connor. “How old are you? Just so I know how much to pay you.”  
“I’m twenty. I will be twenty-one in a few weeks.” Connor looked around the café, "while it’s quiet, can we go over the menu?” Markus extracted himself from the uncomfortable position, nodding at him.

**

Markus, typically, had nothing to do on Mondays. He had the day off work and no classes, which would be good if his friends weren’t busy, his family not working, and no homework to do. Mondays sucked. Which meant that he would, often, go to the library. Or the museum. Or his family's workshop. Or just… anywhere that wasn’t… At home. The apartment was too quiet. It was small, too, but North had taught Markus how to decorate to “fit a space” so their apartment was cluttered, but seemed large. Markus had mixed feelings. He sat on the couch for a while, glaring at his laptop screen.  
The electricity was shut off for block-wide ‘maintenance,’ but he’d missed the letter and woke up to a phone on 20% and a text from North reminding him of the electricity situation. He grumbled when he realised that meant no coffee, and ate a sad bowl of corn flakes from a bowl he hoped was clean. (It was, decidedly, not clean.) After an hour of this, he stood up. Stretched, feeling his joints crack, and texted Leo.  
_can i come over pls- no electricity n i need to study_ (sent: 11:43am.) He stared at his phone, groaning when five minutes passed with no answer. After ten minutes, he decided to pack a bag and go anyway. Leo wouldn’t mind, and their dad was out anyway. After stuffing a textbook, his notebook, laptop, both phone and computer chargers, and other things he’d need, he picked up his phone.  
_comin anyway blease txt me if i cant come_ (sent: 12:01pm.) After turning off his lights, he left the apartment.  


The moment he stepped off the bus, greeted with brisk cold air, barren trees and the larger-than-life silhouette of his dad’s house, his phone buzzed. After an unreasonably long conversation with his brother, then his father, and then the both of them in one groupchat, Markus learnt that neither were home. So, the next best thing is the library. The small, cozy library that he preferred wasn’t far, only a short walk. Markus found himself sitting in the most private spot, at the back of the library on a four-person desk, after a short period of time. It was nice. Markus took out his laptop and got to work, sinking into the soft chair, beginning his work.  


 

 

 

The keys clacked when he pressed them.  


 

 

 

 

 

Words appeared on his screen.  


 

  


 

 

He typed some more. The laptop’s light was glaring into his eyes.

The laptop’s light was burning his eyes.  
“Sorry, is anyone sitting here?” He was interrupted by a calm voice. It was soothing, mellow. Markus sighed, glancing at the clock on his laptop. It’d only been thirty minutes. He shook his head and didn’t look up when the person sat down. After several minutes, a second pair of keys joined the clacking chorus. It was enough to lull him into the haze of productivity.

 

After what felt like infinity, Markus grinned. He rubbed his eye to ease the tendrils of a newly-formed headache, feeling the pressure underneath his skull. After a moment, as if waking from a dream, he raised his aching neck. Like seeing for the first time in centuries, he glanced around, eyes processing the rows of bookshelves. Stared at the endless maze of bookshelves, wood-coloured carpeting that screamed of better days. The abundance of natural lighting, and finally… A ghost? The person who’d asked to sit not forty minutes ago was gone.  
That’s normal. For sure. This is Detroit, not New York. Libraries aren’t just _haunted_. He stared for a few minutes longer, before being disrupted by a chirping text-tone.  
_south: hey wanna go out tonight?_ Markus replied, before inviting Simon and Josh at North’s request.  
_south_ : _also can you please borrow me maos last dancer I lost my copy:(  
_Markus agreed, and got out of his seat.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I've been working on this for a While, but I didn't want to publish the whole thing if people didn't like it, so please let me know if I should continue this!  
> Thanks xx


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